Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Algeria's ambassador on Monday, when Iraq's foreign affairs spokesperson Ahmed Mahjoub reportedly said that Baghdad had expressed "the government and the people of Iraq's indignation... at the glorification of the horrible face of Saddam Hussein's deadly dictatorial regime".

USM president Hakim Serrar, responded on Tuesday by saying "the songs by our supporters were not mean or insulting".

"It was just a way for them to honour the Iraqi team through its former president," Serrar said.

"The match took place in very good conditions. It was all a misunderstanding.

"The Union of Arab Football Associations [UAFA] have not contacted us. We took the initiative and explained what happened. It is a banal affair."

But the president of the Iraqi Football Association, Abdelkhaleq Messaoud, said in a statement that the federation would withdraw clubs from the Arab Champions League if UAFA did not "make the decision to respect our rights".

USM goalkeeper and captain Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche has asked the club's supporters to reconsider their chants.